El vehículo Perseverance explorará el cráter Jezero y dará el primer paso para traer a la Tierra rocas del planeta vecino.
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Astronomers at the Harvard Center for Astrophysics have used daily global maps from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter missions to Mars for eight years. to map nothing less than 14,974 dust storms larger than 100,000 square kilometers and lasting more than a day.
Information for future missions
In this way, an attempt has been made to analyze particularities and patterns in storms that significantly affect the transmission, thermal structure and circulation of the Martian atmosphere.
All this information is a very valuable new resource for modeling the Martian atmosphere and mission planning.
Huge dust storms, which persist for weeks and even months, obscuring the entire planet, can arise suddenly, although they are more frequent after the planet's perihelion and in the Southern Hemisphere, when it is the end of spring there, They are caused by winds of more than 150 km/h.
Just as on Earth a wind of 50 to 60 km/h is enough to raise clouds of dust, on Mars, given the tiny density of the air, only a gale of about 200 km/h can produce the same effect. These storms can reach planetary dimensions.
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14,974 dust storms mapped on Mars over eight years
was originally published in
Xataka Science
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Sergio Parra
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Behavioral and linguistic changes in tweets in Spanish published by users who suffer from depression and who are taking antidepressant medication have been identified by Researchers from the Biomedical Informatics Research Program (GRIB) of the UPF and the Medical Research Institute of the Hospital del Mar (IMIM) of Barcelona.
The main objective was to detect the effects of antidepressants through changes in the language used in their tweets or in the way these people used Twitter.
668,842 tweets
He study included 186 users and their timelines with a total of 668,842 tweets.
During periods in which users reported that they were receiving treatment with antidepressant medications, their Twitter activity increased with longer messages but posting fewer messages at night.
They also interacted more with other users and there was also an increase in positive emotions related to happiness and surprise.
As explained Ferran Sanz, professor at the Department of Experimental and Health Sciences at UPF (DCEXS) and director of the Research Program in Biomedical Informatics (GRIB) at IMIM and UPF:
The use of techniques based on big data and text mining, which allow us to detect changes in the way in which users interact on social networks such as Twitter, can provide us with new opportunities for tracking and monitoring patients who suffer from one of the most widespread problems. disabling health conditions.
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Behavioral and linguistic changes are studied in the tweets of users with depression and taking antidepressants.
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.
Helping others makes us feel good (so that a kind of Gordian knot appears in which it is difficult to establish whether we are altruistic or selfish), but in addition, Being altruistic makes us feel less alone, more connected with others.
Something that has even been proven with widowed women.
Loneliness and connection
The experience of helping others reduces the activity of the brain's stress and threat centers, including the amygdala, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and anterior insula.
Likewise, an increase in activity is detected in areas of the brain associated with attention and rewards (the septal area and the striatum).
In other words: helping others seems to increase the feeling of well-being, but it alsoIt's an antidote to the pain of loneliness and disconnection. This was particularly tested with the loneliness rates of widows and married women in a study from 2017 with a sample of almost 6,000 Americans.
Naturally, widowed women generally felt lonelier than married women, but there was an exception, as explained Vivek H Murthy in his book Together. The power of human connection:
Widows who voluntarily participated in some service activity, for an average of two or more hours per week, did not feel more alone than those whose husbands were still alive. Helping others effectively eliminated the loneliness derived from loss.
This undoubtedly adds a layer of complexity to the definition of altruism and selfishness. Because if we feel good I feel altruistic, Aren't we selfish? You can delve a little deeper into the sociological jungle of these kinds of issues in the following video:
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The power of altruism: helping others makes us feel less alone (especially if we are widows)
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.
He Insectothopter It was an artificial dragonfly capable of flying up to 200 meters. It was designed by Vought Corp Advanced Technology Center, in Dallas, United States, for the CIA.
The project was started in the early 1970s and closed sometime after 1974. It was hand painted to look as much like a dragonfly as possible.
Espionage project
In Full Cold War, an option was sought to spy on the enemy without raising suspicions. After discarding the idea of a mechanical bumblebee, CIA engineers created a prototype dragonfly. Nicknamed the Insectothopter, it was the first insect-sized unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Under ideal conditions, it had a range of 200 meters and a flight time of 60 seconds.
It was hoped that field agents would be able to pilot this flying insect to approach targets and will use eye reflectors to focus a laser microphone (which detected sound from the distortion of the reflected ray).
The Insectothopter's propulsion system was based on a miniature fluid oscillator, which moved the wings up and down to imitate the flight of a real dragonfly.
Following the example of nature, the CIA engineers were right to choose the dragonfly. Dragonflies are agile trapeze artists, capable of floating, gliding and even flying backwards. They can rotate 180 degrees in three flaps. The Insectothopter's body of 6 centimeters long and with a wingspan of 9 cm was within the range of the actual dimensions of a dragonfly.
Furthermore, dragonflies are native to all continents except Antarctica, so their presence would not be striking.
However, the insect robot proved to be too fragile to be used, as even the slightest breezes would knock it over.
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The news
The first robotic flying insect was developed in the 1970s, but it was too fragile
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
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People feel alone, more and more. The 13 % of the Italians, in fact, indicate that they have no one to ask for help. One-fifth of older men in Canada say they feel lonely at least once a week. The same as a quarter of Australians. In Japan, more than one million adults fit the official government definition of “social secluded” (hikikomori).
Evolution has not made us social creatures. We need to be with others, make alliances, gossip, see ourselves reflected in the eyes of others. However, just in times where we could do that more than ever, the opposite seems to be happening.
Together
These are some of the topics it explores Together. The power of human connection, written by Vivek H Murthy, who was nominated by President Joe Biden in December 2020 for the position of 21st Surgeon General of the United States, a position he had previously held in the Obama administration.
Together: The power of human connection (Ares and Mares)
A book, which in addition to functioning as a wake-up call, proposes some strategies to reduce our intergroup tribalism, and is committed to a technology that does not isolate us, but rather connects us more and more. The future of our species depends on it.
At the bottom of our loneliness is the innate desire to relate to others because the human being is a social creature. We have evolved to participate in a community, to forge lasting bonds with others, to help each other, and to share life experiences. This book is a powerful wake-up call and in it there are many strategies that can help us connect because, simply, we are better off if we are together.
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The news
Books that inspire us: 'Together. The Power of Human Connection' by Vivek H. Murthy
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.
If you are receiving one of the vaccines to combat Covid-19, there are some things you can do to give the vaccine a better chance of working, according to the evidence we have in the research of other vaccines.
Here There are five tips in this regard.
Five things to do
These factors could be so important that some scientists believe ignoring them could reduce the overall success of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout:
- Avoid stress. Many studies have found that people who experience stress have weaker antibody responses to vaccines, and positive mood on the day of vaccination is linked to a more robust response.
- Sleep well. Studies report that people who get enough sleep the nights before vaccination have stronger antibody responses than those who get less sleep.
- Connect with family and friends. Research suggests that having better social support improves the chances of a strong response, while loneliness is linked to lower antibody responses.
- Avoid alcohol. Drinking heavily before and after a vaccine disrupts immune cell function, which can decrease the body's ability to defend itself against a virus.
- do exercise. Studies have found that an active lifestyle, or a 15-minute workout before the jab, is associated with stronger immune responses to vaccines.
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The news
Five things we can do to try to boost our immune response by getting vaccinated
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
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According to a new study, frequent consumption of chocolate in women is linked with a lower interest in sex (self-rated).
The study involved 723 men and women in Southern California, ages 20 and older, who completed surveys reporting frequency of chocolate consumption (pieces per week) and interest in sex (rated from 0 to 10).
Chocolate and sex
For sexual interest, participants were asked to rate “interest in sex” (past two weeks), on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 defined as “not present” and 10 defined as “most present.” For chocolate frequency, participants were asked “how many times a week do you consume chocolate?” LDL cholesterol and glucose were also assessed based on sexual interest and chocolate.
The frequency of chocolate consumption was the strongest evaluated predictor of sexual interest in women. No relationship was seen in men, although a trend was seen in younger men.
Popular representations in which chocolate is represented as a substitute for sex and "satisfying" the need for sex in women represents a possible explanation for these findings.
One might speculate that the differential effects on men versus women align with observations that chocolate consumption activates and inhibits different regions of the brain: In men, there is increased taste activation in the ventral striatum, insula, and orbitofrontal and medial orbitofrontal cortex and decreased taste activation in somatosensory areas; in women, increased taste activation in the precentral gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, and putamen and decreased taste activation in the hypothalamus and amygdala.
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Women who eat more chocolate have less interest in sex
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.
Studying samples of the chemical element europium embedded in zircon crystals is a curious way to find out what the earth's crust was like thousands of years ago.
Thanks to a new study Taking this approach, we can deduce that our planet was mostly flat, that the crust was thinner than now, that there were probably not even mountains.
Thinner crust
But How do we know about the crust by studying a single chemical element? Because the amount of europium found in such crystals can be used to reveal the thickness of the Earth's crust at the time of the crystal's formation. The more europium there was in the crystal, the more pressure was exerted from above, suggesting a thicker crust.
They found evidence suggesting that during Earth's middle period, the crust was thinner, more uniform than it is now.
Back then, the planet was covered by oceans and flat landmasses. Such conditions suggest that tectonic activity must have slowed sharply or stopped completely for about a billion years. The researchers further point out that the tectonic activity that pushes mountains towards the sky and the subsequent erosion would have enriched the environment in the oceans, making the evolution of life possible.
Without such cycles, evolution would have slowed dramatically, which previous research has shown occurred during the Middle Earth period.
Previous research has suggested that approximately 1.8 billion years ago, Earth went through a period of calm in which the evolution of life slowed dramatically. In this new effort, the researchers suggest that the reason for the slowdown was the absence of tectonic activity.
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The news
Thanks to the analysis of this chemical element embedded in crystals we know that before, on Earth, there were no mountains
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
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Because of its ability to repair DNA damage or destroy cancer cells, an antioxidant found in green tea can increase levels of p53, a natural anti-cancer protein.
This study published in Nature Communications details the direct interaction between p53 and the green tea compound, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).
Epigallocatechin gallate
Mutations in p53 are found in more than 50% of human cancers, while EGCG is the main antioxidant in green tea. And there is a previously unknown direct interaction between the two, which points to a new path for the development of anti-cancer drugs.
P53 has several well-known anticancer functions, including stopping cell growth to allow DNA repair, activating DNA repair, and initiating programmed cell death, called apoptosis, if the DNA damage cannot be repaired.
For its part, EGCG is a natural antioxidant, meaning it helps undo the almost constant damage caused by oxygen metabolism.
The team of researchers discovered that the interaction between EGCG and p53 preserves the protein from degradation.
We already knew that, among their many biological activities, the predominant polyphenols in green tea (EGCG, EGC, ECG and EC) and the theaflavins and thearubigins present in black tea have antioxidant properties. These chemicals, especially EGCG and ECG, have considerable free radical scavenging activity, and can protect cells from suffer DNA damage caused by reactive oxygen species.
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The news
An antioxidant found in green tea may increase levels of p53, a natural anti-cancer protein
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.